Open Paleo

Gobihadros

Tsogtbaatar et al., 2019 GOH-bee-HAD-ros

From the Gobi Desert (where it was found) combined with hadros (Greek for 'bulky' or 'stout'), the root of Hadrosauridae; meaning 'Gobi hadrosaur'

100.5–83.6 million years ago Cenomanian–Santonian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Gobihadros is a genus of basal hadrosauroid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now the Bayanshiree Formation (dated to the Cenomanian-Santonian) of Mongolia. It contains only the type species Gobihadros mongoliensis, which has an estimated length of 7.5 m (25 ft).

Diagnosis

  1. Premaxilla with a 'double-layer' oral margin: two rows of denticulations separated by a deep sulcus bearing vascular foramina (convergent in Hadrosauridae).
  2. Up to three functional teeth in the dentary tooth row (convergent in Hadrosauridae); other non-hadrosaurid hadrosauroids have only one or two functional teeth per position.
  3. Sigmoidal dorsal outline of the ilium with a well-developed, fan-shaped posterior process.
  4. Greater lateral expression of the supracetabular crest compared to Bactrosaurus, Probactrosaurus, Eolambia, Claosaurus, and Tethyshadros.
  5. Spike-like manus digit 1, differing from Tethyshadros insularis, Plesiohadros djaktaensis, and Hadrosauridae.

Species

Gobihadros mongoliensis Tsogtbaatar et al., 2019

Type species

Named for Mongolia, reflecting the provenance of the holotype from the Bayanshiree Formation of Mongolia.

Holotype
MPC-D 100/746 , Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences
Material
Complete, nearly articulated skeleton.
Horizon
Bayanshiree Formation, Cenomanian–Santonian, Late Cretaceous , 100.5–83.6 million years ago The age of the containing rock unit; no finer age has been published.
Locality
Baishin Tsav I, Ömnögovi, Mongolia

Notable specimens

  • ZPAL MgD-III/3

    Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences pathology

    Exceptionally large, old individual whose CT scans revealed calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease in caudal vertebrae and pedal phalanges. At 7.5 meters it may mark the taxon's top size limit; closely spaced growth lines and an external fundamental system confirm advanced age.

    Tsogtbaatar et al. (2019)Słowiak et al. (2020)Słowiak et al. (2021)

  • MPC-D 100/763

    Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences complementary

    Referred complete articulated skull, with a hand, of an immature individual roughly 3 meters long; the most important of the referred specimens, helping make Gobihadros the most completely known basal hadrosauroid from Asia.

    Tsogtbaatar et al. (2019)

References

  1. Tsogtbaatar, K.; Weishampel, D. B.; Evans, D. C.; Watabe, M. (2019). A new hadrosauroid (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from the Late Cretaceous Baynshire Formation of the Gobi Desert (Mongolia). PLOS ONE 14(4): e0208480. Public Library of Science (PLoS). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0208480 tsogtbaatar2019a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Ornithischians. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the mass and hip height estimates, and the appearance features.

    jones2026a
  3. Słowiak, J.; Szczygielski, T.; Ginter, M.; Fostowicz-Frelik, Ł. (2020). Uninterrupted growth in a non-polar hadrosaur explains the gigantism among duck-billed dinosaurs. Palaeontology 63(4): 579-599. doi:10.1111/pala.12473 słowiak2020a
  4. Słowiak, J.; Szczygielski, T.; Rothschild, B. M.; Surmik, D. (2021). Dinosaur senescence: a hadrosauroid with age-related diseases brings a new perspective of old dinosaurs. Scientific Reports 11: 11947. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-91366-1 słowiak2021a